The Hero Returns

Whirl, whirl—

The magic started to overrun around Su-hyeun. The highly concentrated magic blew violently and became hotter. In a sudden change of mood, Richie also pulled our his magic.

"Well, that is good. Because I do not like the type of people who pretend to be a hero." Richie chuckled and laughed at Su-hyeun. He continued to say, "but isn't it weird? What you did was a hero thing. Why did you save the soldiers? Go to all that effort? And why did you trust me to not hurt them after they ran away?"

"…What?" Maxman looked back at Su-hyeun in surprise. "Even after the soldiers ran away?"

Su-hyeun had helped the soldiers run away and checked the Richie during his break. He focused all his nerves on Richie in the deep underground. He also checked the soldiers' movement. In the process, he consumed with considerable concentration and even physical strength.

"I did not care for them at all. You fool just wasted your power." Richie sneered.

"It was not a waste," Su-hyeun denied what Richie said and stepped forward.

Crack—!

He trampled the blade under his feet. The magic spread around him with rage. His eyes sparkled. He stared at Richie.

"Why was that a waste?" he asked.

Thump—

Su-hyeun closed the distance toward Richie.

"Since the soldiers ran away because of me, it is my responsibility to keep them alive. This man, right here, evacuated the soldiers because of me."

Su-hyeun remembered what Maxman said, "If my decision was wrong...I will take responsibility for myself."

The sense of responsibility and pressure that Maxman felt, Su-hyeun could understand better than anyone else. His one action and one word could decide so many people's lives.

"If so... I should decide that the decision was not wrong. That is my responsibility," Su-hyeun determined.

"What funny sophistry! Are you sacrificing yourself to save others?"

"It is not a sacrifice. It is a responsibility. Responsibility for my actions. Can you say a fool who doesn't know that he is a wizard of knowledge?"

"...I know for sure," Richie said with certainty, "you are the same as every other hero I know."

"Really? Is that so?"

Stab—

Su-hyeun's sword penetrated Richie's head.

"Well then, let's just say you are right," he said.

Whoosh—!

Richie's body started to burn and lit up the dark underground. Su-hyeun turned his body behind the burning Richie.

"Kekeke." Richie's laughter came from the back.

At first, the burned body by Flame was not Richie's. It was some sort of hallucination magic.

"You are a funny guy. A hero? ... No, you already knew about me, didn't you?" Richie asked.

"About half?" Su-hyeun answered.

He had a rough idea about the final destination of this trial, the mission that he got at this moment.

"The God of Death. Well, that is just a name... I think you are an apostle of the king, the Richie King."

The Richie King. Among the intelligent monsters, he was also known as the God of Death. The Richie in front of him was an apostle of that Richie King. He was an upper-grade Richie, who was master of death-related magic

Su-hyeun looked at the huge pattern drawn on the floor of the underground. It was a very complex pattern. He had seen this pattern once before.

"Death-Force Absorption."

Death-Force Absorption was the name of this pattern named by awakeners. It was a skill to draw the souls around the pattern and to improve the power of the user. It was a kind of magic circle that was mainly used by the apostle of the Richie King. Su-hyeun had been contemplating this skill since hearing the content of the trial and knowing the existence of Richie.

"If all people were dead...," he thought, "that Richie probably had much stronger power than now."

That was the reason why the gatekeeper gave him a hint, "Do not kill anyone."

"Kekeke. You are just proving your ignorance by disparaging His Majesty by that name," Richie giggled and said.

"Bullsh*t. He is just a little stronger skeleton. You are the ignorant one, serving that man as a god."

"That is because you have no idea who His..."

"That fellow. He will be killed by my hands." Su-hyeun cut Richie off.

Richie stopped laughing by Su-hyeun's word. He was pretty loyal to his king, as soon as Su-hyeun mentioned the king's death, he did not look relaxed anymore. But what he said was not just a lie to provoke him.

"What? Can't you believe me? Then, go otherworld and wait. You will see him soon."

"...You brat. Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am. You would know. If my word is true or not."

What Su-hyeun said was true. The Richie King was a great being praised by Richies as the God of Death, but he was also just a monster.

At the time of the dungeon outbreak, Su-hyeun had dealt with him. That time, he killed the Richie King and destroyed all Richies in the world. The Richie King was the creator of Richie's life extension system. That was why all Richies served him as a god.

"You're saying something you shouldn't," Richie said in a low voice.

Kuuuuuu—

Crash, Craaaash—

The magic of Su-hyeun and Richie started to crash. Maxman, who was in the middle, grasped his fist. His feet started to tremble.

"This is... This is a different world than I lived in," he thought.

Maxman already knew how strong Su-hyeun was. He saw his skills with own eyes. The mysterious fire and magic he was using, and his magic factor was high. Plus, his sword skills were way higher than average. Maxman could not hesitate to say he was just amazing. But he still thought, there would be something he could help. But...

"What the hell am I doing..." he mumbled.

He was seeing the kingdom's secret right at the moment. The Richie was appointed as the lord of a castle. Somebody in the kingdom planned to kill all soldiers and to increase the power of Richie.

And since Maxman confirmed all the facts, he had to help Su-hyeun at least a little bit. But he could not. He had no power for that. He was not sure if his help would help Su-hyeun anyway.

Sizzle—

Two huge bolts of magic hit and bounced in all directions. At that moment, it had become bright in front of Maxman's eyes. When he opened his eyes again, they were gone.

"Where did they go?"

Craaack—!

Whack—!

He could feel the hot heat and stinging aura.

Rumble, ruuumble —

The underground started to shake.

Swish, swish—

Whoosh—!

Maxman barely protected himself from the aftermath of the fight. Su-hyeun swung Gram and struck Richie's head.

Guuuuu—

Swish—

Gram's way was warped by the huge pressure that shot from his hand, the Guide magic. But Richie could not turn the way of the sword as he expected. The attack he had made intending to destroy it in the first place.

"As I expected…," Richie thought.

Swish—!

The ominous black sphere twisted its shape and shot at Su-hyeun. He did not avoid it, he rather cut it off, and approached Richie.

Slash, slash—

Boom, boom, boom—

The sphere was cut and lost its direction and burst out. Richie focused on Su-hyeun's sword.

"That sword is pretty annoying," Richie thought.

He looked at the sword in Su-hyeun's hand. Su-hyeun's ability was extraordinary, but his sword was something very special as well.

Su-hyeun did not use much of his power. He was saving his magic. The hardness and sharpness of the sword was all the ability of the sword itself. Richie was surprised at the fact that the sword could cut his magic by its power.

"and that power—"

Whoosh—

The flame surrounded Su-hyeun, who was burning all the dark magic and approaching him. He could not get closer to Su-hyeun because of that. That was a good defending method, also an absolute attacking method. That Flame was incompatible with Richie, who was using the dark magic.

"— is very tricky," Richie thought.

In this way, it would be hard to fight back. Moreover, the skill he was preparing did not complete. The situation was disadvantageous to him.

"Then…," Richie thought something and rushed to Su-hyeun.

Richie was a wizard, but he ran into the swordsman. It was not a normal situation. Su-hyeun's eyes flashed in an unexpected situation.

"What is he doing?" Su-hyeun thought.

Swish—

Richie stretched out his hand to Su-hyeun.

In that short moment, Su-hyeun's head spun fast. "Should I make this face-to-face? Is it some sort of trick? Is this an opportunity or a trap?"

With complicated thinking, the Flame on his hand changed its color.

Swoosh—

The Flame that changed to blue inflated its size.

"I won't avoid you. Face-to-face."

The worries were brief, and there was no reason to save power since he had made the decision.

[The Transfiguration skill: Imoogi.]

[The Flame.]

[Indomitable body.]

Su-hyeun's body was surrounded by scales of Imoogi. The blue Flame covered his body and sword. His body became harder than steel because of the Indomitable body skill. There was no need to save his magic. If only he could cut Richie now.

"What the…" Richie, who ran straight to Su-hyeun, was surprised by the unexpected strength. "He is more powerful than I expected…!"

The moment when their hands and swords cross each other—

Swoosh—

Boooom—!

—The blue and black magic hit, and the shock wave shook the whole huge castle.

Act 10

Kuuuuuu—

The castle, which had been shaken by the aftermath of the huge explosion, began to stabilize.

Patter, patter—

The broken walls and ceiling fell. Maxman coughed and lowered his arm that he had raised to protect his head.

"Cough! Cough!"

Kkkrrraak—

Crash—

A pile of rock that had poured over his head spilled onto the floor. It was a miracle to survive in this mess. Maxman thought if he was a wizard, not a swordsman, he would not have survived.

"What is just happened...?"

Maxman, who had barely recovered his vision, lifted his head and stiffened like a rock and opened his eyes wide. His mouth opened in surprise.

"C-castle…"

The empty underground was cluttered with the collapsed ceiling, meaning that the aftereffect of the explosion had affected not only the underground but also the ground itself. It was amazing that such an explosion occurred due to the collision of power, but it was also amazing that he survived in it.

"Wait! What happened to that guy?"

In this collision, what happened to the parties, Su-hyeun and Richie?

"Could he survive? Even the castle collapsed!" Maxman quickly stood up and looked around. Su-hyeun had saved many soldiers in the castle and himself.

Crash, crash—

At that time, he sensed somebody's presence at the piles of stones at one side.

Rumble—

The pile of stones was shaken. Some debris poured down. And from the crack of the pile of stones, one arm came out.